Relearn what's been forgotten
by Rinichey
Summary: A deal had been struck between two children. Each would take a turn in guiding the other through the Underground their way, and now it was Chara's turn to keep their end of the deal. They consider the task before them child's play, until they run through it themselves. (MAJOR SPOILERS. This is a pacifist run after a genocide!)
1. Starting over

… _Interesting._

 _You want to go back._

 _You want to go back to the world you destroyed._

 _It was you who pushed everything to its edge._

 _It was you who led the world to its destruction._

 _But you cannot ace-_

 _Hm?_

 _Oh, that's right._

 _ **The deal.**_

 _Do you think things will change?_

 _Do you think_ _ **I**_ _will change?_

 _No._

 _You have made a foolish deal._

 _And now…_

 _You will give me what we promised._

 _And I will show you…_

 _How wrong you were._

Unfamiliar warmth could scarcely touch the fragile body, where light's reach was faint and weak. Vegetation covered the dirt of the earth, the grass wilting beyond the hand of light. Only a bed of flowers were permitted to bask in the holiness of this mere glimpse of a sun, but now they lay under a new being, trampled and crushed.

The child amidst the flowers, how gentle and innocent they slept. Their yellowish skin was able to feel the light and receding warmth while the rest of the body was clothed in a long, blue sweater and short, blue pants. Two horizontal, purple stripes were the only design on the sweater, and short white socks and brown shoes covered their feet.

Their short, rugged brown hair swayed when the head rolled to the side, a low moan escaping their closed lips. Heavy, black eyelids slowly opened to stare at the source of the light, then immediately regretted it and shut them closed again. The body flinched from the pain and the child let out a hiss, throwing their hands up to cover their eyes.

Was the light always this blinding?

Slowly the hands slid down from the face to touch the flowers beneath them. They were soft and cool to the touch, a sensation that the child had forgotten. They had forgotten every sensation, really.

Using their hands for support, the child lifted their back and head up to sit, taking another moment to try and open their eyes. From the black eyelids a pair of soft, bright red eyes were welcomed to the world as they stared off into the pitch black that crept close to light's domain.

They opened their mouth, inhaling as much oxygen as they could before slowly exhaling. They couldn't help but smile as they felt the air leave their lungs, oh how long had it been since this was possible? They stared happily at the hands beside them, before taking a moment to clack both shoes together.

Yes, their lungs, their hands, their shoes, their body.

He was reborn.

"Quite a nice body you have here." The young boy spoke, a little surprised at first that the voice that escaped his lips was not the one he was used to using.

He brought a finger to touch his lips delicately, then smiled. "Oh, I'm sorry. My body now. And my voice too."

Turning his gaze, the boy was not surprised to find himself in the midst of company. A spectral being floated just beyond where the light kissed the hidden earth; a dull glow surrounded their body. They appeared exactly as the child before them, though their heavy eyelids kept the illusion of staying closed. An unexpressive frown dawned their lips.

The boy giggled. "Thanks for keeping my body in shape," before rising to his feet to stretch. Upon standing on one foot however the boy teetered backwards before falling back onto the flowers with a crunch.

He hissed in pain, reaching back to rub his rear while a haunting giggle slithered into his ears and out the other. He turned to smile at the giggling ghost. "Laugh while you can, I have your body now."

Delicately the boy brought his hand over his heart, his eyes half-lidded and his smile mischievous. "And the very being of your soul."

He took a moment to close his eyes, hoping the ghost was growing jealous. "Mmm, it feels good to have one again. The soul of a young boy."

Opening one eye to the ghost, he frowned when the child didn't appear to look upset. They had crossed their arms as if they were waiting for something to happen. The boy opened his other eye. "Do you expect me to thank you?"

The boy was a little surprised when the child shook their head. The boy soon felt a blush blossom when the child pointed to their nether regions, their face still expressionless. The boy scoffed. "What are you implying?"

Continuing to point, the boy took their eyes off of the ghost and suddenly gain an interest to their lower region. Their blush, albeit small, warmed slightly as they rose a hand to inspect the area. Upon contact, they gasped, their blush rising in heat.

Ripping their hand away, the boy was very eager now to rise to his feet, his eyes wide and on the ghost. "You're a girl?!"

The ghost cocked their eyebrow as if they expected the boy, no, the girl to have already known that. He clenched his teeth in response. "I thought you were a boy, like me! I can't tell if you're a guy or a girl just by hovering around you!"

He suddenly became aware of his voice again, slapping his mouth shut in embarrassment. It was true that he had never heard the girl physically speak before, only in her mind, but now it was almost foolish of him not to realize how girly it sounded. It was a too high-pitched and soft for his liking as he cleared his throat a few times, trying to lower it.

"Ah…" He tried again, only to close his mouth. He could feel his blush spread across his face as the ghost giggled again.

He averted his eyes. "Shut up."

Hesitantly opening his mouth once more, he took in another deep breath to try and calm himself down. There wasn't really a way back now, so with some annoyance he changed his thoughts of himself to her.

She let out a defeated sigh. "Well, I didn't expect this outcome. But this doesn't change a thing."

She quickly trained her eyes on the ghost, this ghastly girl once more. "I'll show you how foolish you were by bringing me back. Nothing will change."

The after-image of the girl did not respond, leaving the girl to turn on her heels and walk, or rather take jerky steps, to the edge of light's domain. She crouched down for an item that scarcely touched the natural sunlight, a lonesome stick amongst the grass. Her fingers were about to close around the lone branch when the ghostly girl spoke.

 _Chara._

Chara raised her head, her fingers now hovering over the branch. She cocked her head to the side, amused. "Don't worry; this is only for the inevitable. Or do you want me to take my knife into battle against Omega Flowey and Asgore?"

Her smile grew when the ghost pursed her lips in a pout, letting Chara know that she had won the argument. Satisfied, she clenched the stick in her hand and stood back up.

She turned happily to the ghost, holding the stick out in front of her. "You think less of me. I bet you think I'm going to just happily skip off and kill everyone."

Her smile dipped for a serious frown, holding the stick towards the ghost as if it were some deadly weapon. "When I make a promise, I don't ever break it. Still, even if I don't kill anyone, as fun as it is, you're still going to see the error of your ways."

Tilting the stick upwards, Chara allowed her smile to come back as she ran a hand up her back neck and into her hair. "This world is predictable. Every outcome is the same; you and I both know that all too well. I've seen everything you have and more a thousand times, nothing-"

She tipped her stick forward, as if cueing for the ghost to continue. She leaned forward and eyed the ghostly girl with contempt. "And say it with me this time, -will change."

Chara giggled as she stood back up, her eyes half-lidded as her smile stretched into a grin. "And neither will I. You gave up your soul for nothing."

With a ditty turn, and a bit of fumbling for balance soon afterwards, Chara turned her head in one direction off into the looming darkness. Even if she couldn't see beyond the dark, she knew exactly where the tunnel was that ran towards the crumbling doorway into the Ruins.

Idly turning her head back, she motioned with the stick for the child. "Are you ready for our journey, Frisk? I hope you brought a book, because this is going to be boring."

Chara gave a content smile to see Frisk float over beside her, waiting for her to take the first step. She did so gladly, escaping out of the only glimpse of sunlight in favor for the eternal and all consuming darkness.

She fumbled her way through the dark, taking short steps to feel her way over to the tunnel of rock inside the mountain as Frisk trailed behind. Walking wasn't coming back as quickly as Chara wanted, but then again standing proved to be a bit of a challenge earlier. She just hoped she didn't slam her face into the ground; Frisk would never let it go.

Chara wondered why Frisk wasn't giving off any light beside her, but quickly came to realize that she, much like he once was, could only be seen by her and was most likely a figment of the remnants of her soul. So long as he had her soul, Frisk would always be there.

"So, want to make this a game?" Chara asked as she finally found the wall of the tunnel. She breathed a sigh of relief, using it as a guide to bring her closer to eventually the doorway. "I bet I can beat your time at racing through the Ruins and into Snowdin."

She turned her head back and gave Frisk a cocky smile. "I'll be at Toriel's house before you even got done with Flowey."

Frisk scoffed, her celestial voice echoing without walls to bounce off of.

Chara's smile grew. "Is that a challenge?"

Frisk didn't immediately nod her head. Instead she crossed her arms again, cocking her eyebrow while staring at Chara. She lost a bit of her smile, then regained it in a laugh. "You think you're going to beat me? Hah! You ran through the Underground like a newborn goat!"

Chara stopped laughing when her hand reached the end of the wall and almost fell in. Chara gasped and steadied herself on her still new legs, frowning when she heard Frisk giggle behind her.

Just as she straightened her back she realized where she was, staring into the long tunnel where another patch of light fell down into the Underground. A medium-sized flower stared in their direction, though couldn't see them through the dark, as if they had heard Chara laugh and was waiting for something to happen.

Chara lightly touched the rock wall beside her, then smiled once more and turned to Frisk. She lightly giggled before whispering. "Watch and learn, baby goat."

She strode confidently into the room.

* * *

Heyo! I don't know when i'll get around to continuing this as my main focus for now is going to be Accepting Darkness, but I do want to continue this story. For those of you who have read Fading Light beforehand, this is basically the Chara route. You don't need to have read Fading Light to understand this, though! This is just a story where Chara ventures through the Underground with Frisk as their spectral buddy in trying to perfect a pacifist run. Chara will soon realize that's not as easy as it sounds. I hope you guys enjoy it!


	2. An old friend

Chara couldn't help but grin as she stepped closer to the flower in the center of the light. It was the biggest flower amongst the short and pathetic grass, standing tall as it basked in that faint glow of light. Its yellow petals were bright and full, lightly dangling off of the white center the flower possessed which held a face of contemplation and curiosity.

The last time she physically met with her old friend there was a knife between them and not soon after a dead flower. She could still hear his delicious, high-pitched shrieks of pain and fear as she cut him to ribbons, a price to pay for stealing her final kill.

In hindsight, Flowey was the only monster she had come to kill; every other time had been Frisk. How ironic that her first murder had been him.

Flowey strained his little, beady eyes into the darkness but suddenly sprouted a happy, innocent smile. Chara figured Flowey knew she was coming before she even got to the light, though a new thought dawned upon her that made her slow.

She lightly touched her lower eyelid, giving a dissatisfied hum. While it would be funny to see how Flowey would react to her bright red eyes, she turned instead to Frisk for guidance who hovered beside her.

Frisk gave a soft smile, pointing to her own, half-lidded eyes as Chara soon got the memo. She tried it herself, allowing her eyelids to hover lower than she was used to, but surprised that she could still see, even if it made her look like they were closed.

She smirked for a moment, thinking to herself. ' _I always wondered how you got around without opening your eyes. Sneaky._ '

Frisk smirked right back upon hearing Chara's thoughts, urging her to continue when Flowey spoke. "Is that a friend I see? Don't be shy, I won't bite!"

Putting forth her best confused act, Chara slowly stepped into the light, only to stop a few inches away from Flowey. Frisk floated alongside Chara, a guilty look on her face as Flowey decided to bop up and down.

"Howdy!" Flowey happily proclaimed, the leaves at the bottom of their stem healthy and open wide. "I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower!"

Chara had to help herself from bursting out laughing over how silly Flowey's act was. It was more fake than her own, but oh did it amuse and bore her. She had heard this speech so many times she could almost recite it. "Hmmm…You're new to the UNDERGROUND, aren'tcha? Golly, you must be so confused."

As if on cue Chara slightly opened her mouth, nodding her head nervously to comply with Flowey's statement. It was almost too easy and yet oh so boring at the same time. Chara couldn't help but snicker in her mind. _'Oh Azzy, you're such a fool. I bet you wouldn't be stuck in that pathetic flower if you just listened to me.'_

Chara felt herself physically frown at her thought before quickly regaining her act. Luckily Flowey hadn't picked up on the outward emotion; instead he appeared more anxious and delighted than before. "Someone ought to teach you how things work around here. I guess little old me will have to do."

Chara continued to play the helpless child as she let herself feign a warm smile, nodding her head in compliance. Flowey's smile grew in a mischievous way. "Ready? Here we go!"

' _Predictable.'_ Chara wanted Frisk to know, adding to her statement with a bored yawn. _'Now he's going to take my soul an-!'_

Chara stifled a gasp when there was a sudden, pulling sensation on her very being. Her heart wriggled as if something had grabbed onto it and lurched her forward, causing her to open her eyelids half-way before slamming her face into the ground.

Chara's arms shook as she pushed her face up off of the ground, growling to hear Flowey openly laugh at her. Flowey paused when he noticed Chara lift her head, bringing the tip of one leaf up to his mouth. "Did I startle you? So sorry! I'll try to be gentler next time."

Flowey's voice dripped with contempt as Chara pushed herself back up to her wobbly feet. She growled again when she heard Frisk trying to hush her giggles while hiding her smile behind her sleeves.

Chara twitched her head back for a second before returning her gaze back at Flowey. The sensation inside of her was unfamiliar and foreign, as she couldn't recall a time when one of the monsters tried to attack her. But then again, even if they had she doubted she would have remembered the feeling. It was like her soul existed outside of her body, vulnerable and in plain sight. Yet the empty air before Chara and Flowey made it seem they were just standing with no purpose.

"Feel that tugging on your heart? That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being." Flowey began, allowing Chara to tune out what he was saying for the most part and focus more on this odd sensation.

"Your SOUL starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV."

Chara snapped back into the conversation, feeling a smile spread on her lips that Flowey took notice of.

His smile stretched thin. "I bet you don't know what LV stands for, do you?"

"It stands for LOVE, right?"

Flowey leaned back when Chara spoke, causing Frisk to turn in her direction as well. Chara lightly giggled with her lips closed, cocking her head to the side while giving the sickliest, sweet smile she could put forth. She was using her new, girlish voice to her advantage by making it sound too nice and pure. "Is that right, Mr. Flowey?"

Chara could faintly see Frisk cross her arms, to which she replied. _'One of your rules wasn't I couldn't talk. I'm making things more interesting, you should thank me instead of scold me.'_

Flowey seemed confused for a second; taking a mere second to overlook Chara before regaining his smile and extending his stem back up. "Why yes, it is! Golly, you sure are smart."

Flowey leaned in a little, his smile twitching while his eyes hungrily stared at Chara. "It's almost like you knew what I was going to say. Tell me, have we met before?"

Frisk floated back then turned nervously over to Chara. Chara could hear Frisk voice her concern, with which she shook it off. _'Relax, he's bluffing. He might suspect that something's happened but he can't possibly remember the last world. We're the only ones who survived the destruction; this world is a clean start.'_

To return Flowey's reply Chara shook her head innocently, clasping her hands behind her back to keep up with the fake, cutesy act. "Why no, Mr. Flowey. My momma always told me though that love makes the world go round."

Chara hid her smirk when Flowey seemed to take the bait, straightening himself again as his smile was plastic and hollow. "Well, how right your mom was! LOVE is the center of everything!"

Chara could feel Frisk's stare crawling up her back over how ridiculous Chara was acting with her body. She giggled softly in response. _'Am I making you sick? I sure hope I am.'_

Right on cue, Chara wasn't surprised when a small circle of little white pellets formed in the air above Flowey's head. He danced happily. "I bet you would like some more LOVE, huh? Well good ol' Flowey is here to help! Down here, LOVE is shared through," if Flowey had lips, he surely would have bit down on them, "Little white, 'friendliness pellets'."

To show his act of kindness, the pellets slowly moved towards Chara. "Move around! Get as many as you can!"

Chara returned Flowey's act of kindness by side-stepping to the left, feeling the faint rush of wind breeze by her when the pellets broke upon contact with the ground. She happily smiled when Flowey gave her an annoyed look. "Hey buddy, you missed them. Let's try again, ok?"

Summoning more 'friendliness pellets', Flowey regained some of his smile before unleashing the slow, moving pellets towards Chara. "Don't move this time!"

Taking one big step, Chara didn't move away until the pellets almost impacted with her face. She watched them this time as they hit the ground only to smash open and disappear, turning her head slowly back to Flowey.

He looked more pissed than the last time, a sight that made Chara internally laugh while Frisk squirmed uncomfortably. "Is this a joke? Are you brain dead? RUN. INTO. THE. BULL-!"

Flowey froze with his mouth open, taking a moment to load what he just said before twitching back into his fake smile. "'Friendliness pellets'."

More pellets were summoned but the ending was the same, with Chara this time giving a light twirl with her side-step as if to gloat Flowey. While calm on the outside, Chara couldn't help but laugh on the inside. _'What a riot! What an idiot! How does he even think this is going to work?'_

When Chara stopped her twirl she angled her head right at Frisk, opening her eyes a smidge to show off her contempt eyes. _'Well, he tricked you I guess. An idiot for an idiot.'_

Before Chara could laugh at Frisk some more a sudden clutching sensation drew the breath away from Chara's lips. She snapped her head back over at Flowey, wincing as her heart felt like it was being crushed.

Flowey appeared beyond displeased, their happy smile transforming into a crooked smile and their eyes hollowing out. His high-pitched voice dropped a few tones, an unholy echo accompanying his words. **"You know what's going on here, don't you? You just wanted to see me suffer."**

Realizing the situation she was in Chara settled down, keeping her innocent smile just too only further annoy him. _'Your suffering was always the funniest.'_

Frisk frowned to hear Chara's internal thoughts, deciding to float off and into the darkness behind Flowey. Chara bunched her eyebrows together. _'Where are you going?'_

The sound of more 'pellets' materializing in the air brought Chara back to the moment in time, watching a horizontal circle of them encase her body.

Flowey looked infinitely delighted when Chara winced again, his eyes gleaming with happy thoughts of murder. **"DIE."**

On command the pellets were drawn to Chara like a magnet, closing the circle around her while Flowey laughed maniacally. His laugh slowly died however when Chara didn't cry out in help or struggle, or even cry or beg. She stood their calmly with that eerie smile, looking right at him.

The pellets continued to move closer, Flowey furrowing his eyebrows in anger. **"Well? Do something! Scream or cry for help!"**

But Chara didn't respond back, bringing Flowey to growl in frustration. **"You're a freak! You know that? A smiling idiot!"**

Chara was a little shocked when swarms of pellets amassed themselves around her, ends pointed right at her being. Flowey sprouted an insane smile. **"I'll wipe that smug smile off your face!"**

Unlike the other pellets, these flew quickly at Chara. Eyes widening, Chara gasped while Flowey got a good look at her eyes. His own eyes blossomed in shock, mouth opening to say something when a wall of fire erupted from the dark.

Chara and Flowey noticed the fire, with Flowey burrowing down into the ground while Chara braced herself. The pellets almost touched her body when the fire engulfed their form, yet curved around Chara. She took this time to open her eyes, amazed at how close the fire was to her face and body, yet wasn't hot enough to burn her. Reds, oranges and yellows danced together in the rapid moving molecules, warm and inviting.

Just as soon as the fire came it left, dissipating behind Chara without so much as a wisp of smoke. Her wide, red eyes stared at where the fire once was, before a calm and motherly voice rang through the room. "What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…"

Closing her eyes enough, Chara moved her head forward, watching Frisk float out of the darkness and back beside her. She wore a happy smile, eagerly expecting the next figure to step out of the darkness.

She was very tall compared to the two children, easily towering over them yet she hunched her back to appear smaller. She wore a long, purple dress that ended at her feet with long, white sleeves that stopped at her wrists. An emblem was embroidered onto the chest area of her dress, baring the symbol of a circle with wings, followed by three triangles beneath it; two facing up and one facing down.

Her face would have scared any child upon falling down for how unfamiliar it was, yet Chara had come to know such a face as nothing but comforting when she fell down. She still had her sweet smile beneath her snout, her well groomed ears and small, protruding horns off the top of her head. And her eyes were warm and inviting, much like a motherly hug.

Oh, how pretty such a face was when blood pooled from her chest.

Playing her part, Chara let out a frightened gasp when the goat monster made herself known. She hesitantly rose her hands in hopes of not startling her away. "Ah, do not be afraid, my child."

Softly she brought her hands to her chest, meaning no harm. Her voice spoke softly, causing Frisk to warmly smile back. "I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time."

Turning to the left, Toriel allowed her left arm to gesture to the darkness she came from, still keeping her calm tone. "Come! I will guide you through the catacombs."

She took a step back from whence she came, turning her head behind to see if Chara would follow. She did so hesitantly, though Frisk seemed to be scolding her for such a fake act. As Toriel, satisfied in knowing she would follow, disappeared into the darkness, Chara took this moment to crane her head back and stick her tongue out at Frisk.

' _Did you expect me to start crying? That I would just collapse in Toriel's arms? You forget I've seen this a million times.'_

Frisk voiced out her reason in Chara's mind, which made her lower her eyebrows. _'Flowey won't step out of line. True, I've never seen him do that, but what can you expect out of him? He's so desperate to see me that he'll assume everyone that falls down here is me. The fool.'_

Chara took a few more steps when Frisk's words stopped her. She asked if she cared for Flowey, since he was her brother.

Chara snickered with contempt. _'That's not Asriel.'_

Her smile fell, lowering her head a bit. _'That thing will never be Asriel.'_

She strode into the darkness without another glance back.

Chara didn't need Toriel's guidance to find her way into the next room. It was almost memory now from how many times she floated alongside the child that came through this hall and into this room. The columns still crumbled off to the side, the staircase was still grand in its entrance, and the room was its ever ridiculous purple. For newcomers, it was a sight to behold. But to Chara, it was nothing more than the setting that would eventually disappear.

Toriel kept her eye on Chara as she ascended the stairs, watching as Chara played the act of the innocent girl. "Come now, we have a lot of ground to cover."

Chara waited until Toriel cleared the staircase before she assumed her confident stride over to the batch of red leaves on the ground. She snapped her head back with a delighted smile just as Frisk floated in front of her. Chara cocked an eyebrow. _'Well?'_

Knowing what Chara wanted, Frisk hopped into the air, her form changing to that of a small, little star atop the red leaves. Chara chuckled inwardly as she touched the star, hearing Frisk's voice in her mind.

 _*The bright red color of the leaves fills you with determination._

' _That's some new dialogue. Going to make this interesting, huh?'_ Chara smiled more to herself than at the Frisk star, closing her eyes. Her soul, like earlier, felt like it was being grabbed, only this time it was in a gentler fashion. Her soul tingled like it was being read, the memory stored elsewhere as Chara opened her eyes again and stepped back.

Frisk spun back to her spiritual form, a little unnerved at Chara's still present smile. _'Keep up the new dialogue. It'll give you something to do than just float around and rot your brain out.'_

Chara walked herself over to the stairs, not surprised to find Frisk suddenly in front of them again. Frisk wore a determined smile, saying that so far she was winning the race.

Chara snorted. _'Please, you got lucky with Flowey. You haven't seen me yet in the Ruins.'_

"My child?" Toriel made herself known again, her hands placed upon the banister beside the stairs as she looked down at Chara. Chara gave her a good, cheesy smile before running her way up the stairs and over to Toriel's side, which startled the monster for a moment.

"You seem eager." Toriel spoke, her smile spreading farther on her lips before glancing to the door in front of them. She gestured her hand. "Come."

Chara wasted no time in following Toriel, wondering if Frisk was just as good at hiding her shock as she was with her eyes.

* * *

 **Hey everyone! So unless something happens that's different, I won't be writing out scenes that happen in the game. That would make it pretty boring to read if you were just reading Undertale the game and it'd probably kill me with writing it, haha.**


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